Accessories for protection of, and additional dresses



M. GREENE July 3, 1956 ACCESSORIES FOR PROTECTION OF, AND ADDITIONAL DRESSES 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed NOV. 26, 1954 July 3, 1956 M. GREENE 2,752,603

ACCESSORIES FOR PROTECTION OF, AND ADDITIONAL DRESSES Filed Nov. 26, 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR ATTOR NE United States Patent ACCESSORIES FOR PROTECTION OF, AND ADDITIONAL DRESSES Mary Greene, Greensboro, N. C.

Application November 26, 1954, Serial No. 471,195

3 Claims. (Cl. 2-46) This invention relates to improvements in a flexible and collapsible plastic dress cover means that may be worn over an evening dress particularly while traveling in inclement weather.

Evening attire whether for male or female is a luxury and the cost of ladies evening gowns in particular is well-known as depending upon the individuals taste and ability to pay. Often the costs of such gowns approximates hundreds of dollars.

There has long been a need for an inexpensive device that could be owned and worn by every lady who attends many formal affairs, in various types of weather, thereby making it unnecessary for her or her spouse to pay expensive cleaning charges for renovating a gown that had been worn in inclement or stormy weather.

Therefore, the principal object of the present invention is to provide a protective cover means that completely enshrouds a ladys gown, thereby eliminating the possibility of dirt, soil or moisture coming into contact with any part of the surface thereof from below the waist of the wearer.

Another object of the invention is to provide a cover means by which an evening gown may be carried while traveling in order to prevent soiling thereof.

Still another object is to provide a flexible and collapsible plastic dress protector which is of such a design as will make it unnecessary to be made in but a small number of waist sizes and lengths.

These and other objects and advantages of the use of this device will become apparent from an examination of the several sheets of drawings, in which Fig. l is a modified top plan view of the protector clearly showing the several bands by which the device is secured to the wearer;

Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the wearer with the inner waistband fastened preparatory to donning her dress;

Fig. 3 is a somewhat similar view with the wearer of the protector after dressing;

Fig. 4 is a front elevation of the fully clothed wearer with the protector encasing the dress; and

Fig. 5 is a rear view of a modified type of collapsible plastic protective cover provided with a train.

The protective dress cover indicated generally at which is made of any suitable flexible plastic material comprises an envelope having inner walls 11 and outer walls 12 made up of a plurality of truncated segmental sections of flexible plastic material 13, 14, 15, 16, 17

that are suitably stitched at s to complete the inner and outer skirts; see Fig. l. Thereafter, these inner and outer skirts are sewed together along the entire bottom edge From an examination of aratory to donning her evening gown (see Fig. 1).

At the top of the inner skirt 11 is secured a waistband 18, the free edges 19 and 20 of which may be provided with complemental fastening means 19a and 20a, respectively, by which the inner waistband may be secured around the waist of the wearer. When the waistband is sewed to the top edge of the inner skirt, as clearly shown in Fig. 1, two loops of plastic material 21 and 22 are attached on opposite sides thereof substantially at a point beneath the arms of the wearer. Atop the outer skirt 12 also is provided a waistband 23 which has elongated tying pieces 24, that are suflicient in length to permit the waistband to encircle the wearer, be tied, and form a suitable bow 26 (see Fig. 5).

it will be obvious to the user of this protector that the tying pieces 24 and 25 may be passed through loops 21 and Z2 and tied thereby providing a bag-like carrying and/ or suspending device for a skirt which is not being worn.

It will be apparent that because of the flowing lines and fullness of the usual formal evening gown, the panels 13, 14, 15, 16, 17 of both the inner and outer skirts that comprise the envelope may be provided with darts D so that either of the waistbands may be properly formed to fit the wearer.

in Fig. 5 is illustrated a modified type of protective cover which has the two rearmost panels thereof substantially elongated to accommodate the train of a wedding gown. It will be understood, of course, that the two panels of the inner skirt are complemental to the outer skirt and are stitched along their overlapping edges as described hereinbefore.

Where necessary in the modified form of the invention,

the lower exterior surface of the two inner panels, which will trail on the ground, may be provided with a reinforcing material of sufflcient strength to prevent these panels from being torn on foreign objects lying on the ground.

The looped elements 21, 22 (see Fig. 1) as indicated hereinbefore are provided for the purpose of hanging the protective cover when not being worn. It will be apparent that this protective device also will be useful while traveling in a motor vehicle for the evening gown of the owner of this protective cover may be carried within the plastic bag-like envelope and fully protected from soiling.

Various changes and modifications are considered to be within the principle of the invention and the scope of the following claims.

What I claim is:

l. A flexible plastic envelope for protecting ladies evening apparel during wear and storage thereof, comprising a pair of substantially similar skirt elements arranged in juxtaposition to provide an inner skirt and an outer skirt, respectively, each of said skirts having a top waist engaging portion and a bottom edge portion, each of said skirts comprising a plurality of truncated segmental sections having their apering lateral edge portions over lapped and joined together, the bottom edges of said inner and outer skirts being joined together throughout their full perimeter to form a double-walled sheath-like structure, said inner and outer skirts being provided with aligned placket-like access openings extending through the waist engaging portion and terminating in spaced relation to but substantially immediately adjacent to the bottom edges of the skirts, means for fastening the waist portion of said inner and outer skirts at the waist of a wearer, and means on the waistband of the inner skirt for carrying the protector.

2. A flexible plastic envelope as claimed in claim 1, wherein the truncated segmental sections comprising the inner and outer panels are four in number.

3. A flexible plastic envelope as claimed in claim 1, wherein the truncated segmental sections of the inner and outer skirts which are disposed at the rear of said envelope age of ggeatelj length {mm waist portion to bottom edge portion" than the rest of said sections, to thereby accom- 1,082,416

inodate a skirt with a train. 2,521,409 2,540,372

Refexjeqggs Cited in the tile of this patent 5 NITED ST E PA 624,114 Stears May 2, 1899 Suddick July 25, 1911 Richony Sept; 5; 1950 Lowry Feb. 6, 1951 

